The objective of the porposed research is to examine the influence of patterns of mother-daughter communication about sex roles and sexuality on daughter's sexual and contraceptive behavior. It is hypothesized that family structural variables will influence attitudinal congruence between mother and daughter which will in turn have an impact on their communication pattern. The latter is expected to influence directly the effectiveness of the daughter's sexual and contraceptive knowledge and behavior. The research design calls for collection of demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral data from 400 black and white 15-year-olds and their mothers currently living in the Detroit, Michigan SMSA. Half of the sample will be from female-headed-households. Multivariate techniques will be used to test the major explanatory model and secondary hypotheses. The project will indicate whether and under what conditions the mother-daughter nexus is an appropriate target for population policy interventions.